Henry Cecil

Overview

Winner of the 2014 Best Racing Book at the British Sports Book Awards The story of trainer Henry Cecil is one of the great redemption songs of sporting history: decades of success at the highest level followed by years in the professional and personal depths then a glorious resurrection topped by the unbeatable Frankel, widely considered the greatest racehorse of all time. Hollywood could not have scripted the tale better. The public loved Cecil, and he returned that affection with a bemused tilt of the head and self-effacing humor. Despite that self-deprecation, Cecil's record testifies to his being one of the greatest racehorse trainers in history, with 25 wins in English Classics to his credit including the Derby four times as well as countless other big-race victories around the world. But what made the figure of Henry Cecil so compelling was the extraordinary personality behind the records, and no one was better placed to chronicle the giddy highs and desperate lows of his story than Brough Scott. The former jockey and now leading sports journalist witnessed Cecil's genius at close quarters for decades, and tells the full story with honesty and candor as well as admiration and affection.

Reviews

"By far the best book on racing I have ever read. It combines a truly extraordinary story, one that no novelist would have dared to submit, with brilliant writing by an author who is almost as knowledgeable about horses and the turf as his subject. It is a just tribute to a man who deserves to be admired beyond even his achievements."  —Spectator

"Scott's achievement has been to explain Cecil's genius and charisma without shying away from the more complex issues. The result is a wonderfully rounded portrait of one of the most endearing figures in British sport."  —Sunday Times

"Scott's tour of Cecil's inner self is as fascinating as it is illuminating."  —Daily Telegraph

Author Biography

Brough Scott rode 100 winners as an amateur and then professional jockey before becoming a broadcaster and journalist. He has written for the Sunday Times, the Independent on Sunday, and the Sunday Telegraph. He was voted Sports Journalist of the Year and has been three times Sports Feature Writer of the Year. He was also a founding director of the Racing Post, for whom he has been a regular contributor. He is the author of Galloper Jack, Racing Certainities, and many other titles about the world of racing.